Boot hanger



Jab. 24, 1961 s. J. KRSTULOVICH BOOT HANGER Filed Nov. 19, 1959 QZAarwyg BOOT HANGER Stephen J. Krstulovich, 4407 S. Mozart St., Chicago, Ill.

Filed Nov. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 854,195

7 Claims. (Cl. 21134) This invention relates generally to a boot hanger, and more particularly to a boot hanger which holds the boot by the heel only, thereby permitting the boot to freely hang therefrom.

The problems attendant the proper care of various types of boots such as wading, riding, hunting, and the like boots, are well kown. Since this type of foot gear is worn relatively infrequently, it thus becomes necessary to dry and then store the same for extended periods of time. Of course, standing the boots on their soles, as in the case of ordinary shoes, is completely unsatisfactory because the boot tops sag and eventually become permanently misshapen, as do the boot portions proper. Further, if the boots are permitted to remain in such a position very often or for any length of time, the material of the tops will ultimately crack. In addition, if the boots when stored are moist from use, they may rot and mold due to unsatisfactory drying because of the inability of air to circulate thereabout.

Lying the boots on their sides is equally as unsatisfactory for obvious reasons. Similarly, stuffing the boots to make the tops thereof stand erect fails to solve all of the above problems because the possibility of mold and rot is still present. Obviously, then, the most desirable position for the stored boot is that in which the boot hangs downwardly so that air can circulate freely therethrough and so that the natural weight of the boot top will tend to keep the boot material in the original stretched condition.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide a boot hanger which grips the boot by the heel thereof and thus permits the boot to hang downwardly therefrom.

In an effort to overcome some of the above described problems, there have heretofore been proposed avariety of boot holders of the character described. However, such holders have generally been characterized by a plurality of disadvantages. For example, the prior devices often employed fastening means such as screws and bolts, or the like, to fixedly interconnect a plurality of gripping elements so that the latter could properly grip a particular boot heel. These devices, of course, required a manipulation of the fastening means in order to initially hang the boot, and a second manipulation of the fastening means in order to release the gripping elements so that the boot could be removed.

it is therefore another important object of the invention to afford a boot hanger of the character described which eliminates all fastening means such as were heretofore required to render the same operable.

A further object is to provide a boot hanger of the character described which is automatically self adjusting for operably gripping boot heels of various sizes and shapes. A related object is to provide a boot hanger of the character described having gripping means which automatically utilizes the weight of the boot itself to effectuate the gripping action. Thus, the greater the weight of the boot, the greater the gripping force exerted thereon by the hanger.

Other prior devices of the character described, in an eflfort to maintain the hanging boot with the sole thereof in the horizontal position, employed means which gripped the boot not only at the heel thereof but also at some other point such as the toe or the instep. Such means were undesirable because they came into direct contact with the upper leather or rubber portions of the boot with the possibility of resulting injury thereto.

Still another object therefore is to afford a boot hanger of the character described which grips the boot in such a manner that no portion of the boot leather or rubber upper is contacted thereby.

Yet another object is to provide a boot hanger of the character described which is so constructed that the boot automatically hangs therefrom with the sole in a substantially horizontal plane.

Still a further object is to afford a boot hanger of the character described which is adapted to grip a boot at the sole or shank where storage space limitations so dictate.

Yet a further object is to provide a boot hanger of the character described which is inexpensively fabricated and yet is most efficient and simple in operation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood" and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Pig. 1 is a perspective view showing my boot hanger holding a boot in the storage position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view showing the invention in operative engagement with a boot heel;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view taken substantially on the plane of irregular line 33 in Fig. 2 and viewed in the direction indicated; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the boot hanger.

Turning first to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally my novel boot hanger. The boot hanger it) is shown suspended from a suitable support such as a rod 12 of the type normally employed in storage closets. Shownhanging from the boot hanger 10 is a boot 14 which comprises the customary upper portion 16, a sole 18 and a heel 20.

The boot hanger 10 comprises a pair of bent wire rod members 22 and 24. The member 22 comprises an eyelet 26 which is obtusely bent as at 27 and terminates in a pair of diverging arms 28, 28. The arms 28 are spirally bent through an arc of 360 degrees to provide a pair of aligned loops 3h, 39. The loops 3t) terminate in a pair of substantially parallel arms 32, 32. Each of the arms 32 is bent slightly as at 34 and then acutely downward as at 36 to provide short, inwardly'projecting legs 38, 38. Each of the legs 38 is provided with a relatively sharp point as indicated at 40. Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will thus be seen that the member 22 lies in a number of different planes for reasons which will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring to Fig. 4, the member 24 comprises a straight leg 42 having a pair of parallel arms 44, 44 projecting outwardly perpendicular therefrom. Each of the arms 44 is bent slightly as at 46 and then acutely downward at as 48 to provide short, inwardly projecting legs 50. Each of the legs 50 is provided with a relatively sharp point as indicated at 52. The straight leg 42 is freely positioned through the loops 30 so that the arms 44, 44 and legs 50, 50 are free to rotate with relation to the arms 28, 28 and 32, 32 and the legs 38, 38. It should thus be noted that the members 22 and 24 provide a form of claw or tongs having four prongs 38, 38 and 50, 50, in which the pairs of prongs are movable with relation to each other.

Pivotally positioned through the eyelet 26 as by means of the return bent loop 54 is a hook member 55 which terminates in a hook 58. The hook 58 permits the entire hanger to be readily suspended from any suitable support such as the rod 12.

In operation, the boot hanger 10 functions in the following manner. The legs 50, 50 and 38, 38 need merely be positioned loosely about the inner surface and outer surface respectively of the heel 20. The eyelet 26 and arms 28, 28 are then pivoted upwardly until the points 52, 52 and 4t 40 are pressed into or brought into gripping engagement with the heel 29. Since the heel 20 generally comprises a yieldable material such as rubber or layered leather, the gripping engagement thereof by the points is of course easily accomplished. The hanger 10, with the suspended boot, may then be hung on a supporting surface such as the rod 12 by means of the hook 58.

It is important to note that the points 40, 40 and 52, 52 initially need only be brought into contact with the heel 20 and need not actually be pressed thereinto. When the entire hanger 10 is suspended from the rod 12, it will be seen that the weight of the boot 14 which is transmitted from the hook 58 through the various planes of the member 22 causes the members 22 and 24 to exert a grappling action on the boot heel 29. Thus, the greater the Weight of the boot 14, the greater the force of the gripping action exerted on the heel 20 by the prongs 38, 38 and 50, 50. The boot hanger 10 is thus readily adjustable to any size or shape of boot heel, and at the same time requires no fastening means to render the same operable. Of course, the removal of the boot from the hanger 10 is as easily accomplished by merely lifting the boot slightly and pivoting the eyelet 26 and arms 28, 28 downwardly.

It is also important to note that the portions of the arms 32 and 44 lying between the bends 34 and 36 and 46 and 48 respectively are substantially parallel to the surface of heel 20, as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Similarly, the eyelet 26 and the arms 28 are of such a length that the rod 12 will always be positioned at approximately the center of gravity of most boots. This novel construction thus insures that virtually any boot will automatically hang in the most desirable position, with the sole in a horizontal plane. Again, it will be noted that no fastening means are required to achieve this result.

The entire boot hanger 10 may be made of a substantially rigid but nonetheless yieldable material such as aluminum or brass rod. Thus, in the rare cases where the boot to be hung is of an abnormally large or small size, it is possible, by simply bending the eyelet 26 slightly up or down, to again insure that the rod 12 will be positioned above the center of gravity of that boot.

Since the hanger provides a most efficient four-pronged gripping action, it will be seen that the same is adapted -to grip objects of virtually any shape. Thus, for example,

4 where storage space limitations so dictate the boot may be readily gripped across the sole thereof.

From the above description and drawings, it should be apparent that I have provided a novel boot hanger which is adapted to efficiently grip boots having variously sized and shaped heels, without coming into contact with any portion of the uppers of the boots. The hanger is most simple in operation and yet requires no fastening means to render the same operable. Likewise, the novel construction of the hanger insures that the boot will automatically hang with its sole in the horizontal position. In addition, the hanger may be most inexpensively fabricated from common materials of construction.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A boot hanger comprising a first bent wire member having a pair of pointed inwardly projecting legs at one end thereof and a pair of aligned loops intermediate the ends thereof, a hook member pivotally connected to the opposite end of said first wire member for suspending said hanger from a suitable support, and a second bent wire member having a pair of pointed inwardly projecting legs, portions of said second member being pivotally positioned through said loops, said wire members providing a four-pronged automatic grapple for gripping a boot heel or the like, said opposite end being positioned so that a boot being gripped by said grapple automatically hangs with its sole in a substantially horizontal plane.

2. The boot hanger of claim 1 in which 'said first wire member has an eyelet formed at said opposite end, said eyelet terminating in a pair of diverging arms, said diverging arms being spirally bent to provide said loops, said loops terminating in a pair of substantially parallel arms, said parallel arms being bent acutely downward adjacent said one end to provide said inwardly projecting legs.

3. The boot hanger of claim 2 in which said second wire member comprises a straight leg and a pair of substantially parallel outwardly projecting arms, said outwardly projecting arms being bent acutely downward adjacent the free ends thereof to provide said second mentioned pair of inwardly projecting legs, said straight leg being pivotally positioned through said loops.

4. The boot hanger of claim 3 in which said parallel arms and said outwardly projecting arms are obtusely bent inwardly of said acute bends, the portions of said arms between said obtuse bends and acute bends being substantially parallel to said sole.

5. A boot hanger comprising first and second bent wire members, said first wire member having an eyelet at one end thereof and a pair of pointed downwardly and in-- wardly projecting legs at the opposite end thereof, said eyelet terminating in a pair of diverging arms, said arms being spirally bent to afford a pair of aligned loops intermediate said ends, said loops terminating in a pair of substantially parallel arms, said parallel arms being bent acutely downward adjacent said opposite end to provide said inwardly projecting legs, said second wire member having a straight horizontal segment, a second pair of substantially parallel arms depending perpendicularly from the ends of said segment, and a second pair of pointed legs projecting inwardly from the free ends of said second pair of arms, said horizontal segment being rotatably positioned through said loops, a hook member pivotally connected to said eyelet for suspending said hanger from a rod, said first and second wire members providing a four-pronged grapple wherein said pairs of pointed legs are adapted to grip a boot heel or the like.

6. The boot hanger of claim 5 in which the horizontal length of said eyelet and diverging arms is such that the center of gravity of a boot being gripped by said hanger 6 is positioned beneath said rod, whereby said boot hangs with its sole in a substantially horizontal position.

7. The boot hanger of claim 6 in which said first bent wire member comprises a resiliently yieldable material whereby said horizontal length may be varied by bend- 10 ing said eyelet upwardly or downwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Butler July 18, 1916 Wajer Nov. 24, 1925 Fassbender Oct. 16, 1928 Stamm May 15, 1945 Kassner June 9, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Mar. 15, 1944 

